Khalifa Abu Bakr - Reply to The Tribes

Another consideration that weighed with Abu Bakr was that Zakat was not a levy subject to political considerations; it was an imperative injunction ordained by Islam, and was equated with prayers. Abu Bakr recalled that when the people of Taif had waited on the Holy Prophet and had sought to be relieved of the obligation to offer prayers, the Holy Prophet had refused to accept the demand on the ground that he was not competent to amend the mandate of God. On this analogy, Abu Bakr felt convinced that he was not competent to grant a concession violative of the fundamental principle of Islam. The matter of fact position was that where God and the Holy Prophet left any matter to the discretion of the community, the community could take such action as might be necessary on the basis of expediency, but where the command of Allah or the Holy Prophet was definite and conclusive, it was absolute and mandatory, and it could not be compromised or modified because of any considerations of necessity or expediency. After considering all aspects of the case, Abu Bakr arrived at the conclusion that he had no jurisdiction to grant an exemption from Zakat, and that as the representative of the Holy Prophet it devolved on him to enforce the command of Allah in letter as well as in spirit, and not to sit in judgment over such order, and seek to modify it for one reason or the other. Abu Bakr's judgment, therefore, was that under the circumstances he had no option but to refuse the demand of the tribes. This conviction fired him with the determination to stand firm, and to refuse to compromise Islam.

Abu Bakr took Umar and other companions into confidence. Umar tried to insist on his previous advice of giving the concession, but as Abu Bakr unfolded his arguments step by step, all the companions came round to the view that truth was what Abu Bakr said.

Reply to the tribes. When on the following day, Abu Bakr met the delegation of the tribes, he explained to them the philosophy underlying Zakat. He brought home to them the point that he had no jurisdiction to grant any concession in respect of a matter which was a mandate of Allah. He explained to them that if they professed Islam, they had to observe all the injunctions of Islam in toto. There was no half way house in Islam, and it was not permissible for them to pick and choose Islam according to their whims and caprices. Islam had either to be rejected or accepted, and there was no room in Islam for any compromise on fundamentals. Abu Bakr argued that Zakat being a fundamental injunction of Islam had to be paid with good grace, and any refusal to pay Zakat implied apostasy.

Addressing the delegates, Abu Bakr declared in unequivocal terms: "Under the circumstances, if with reference to Zakat you withhold even as much as a string to tie a camel, as the Caliph of the Holy Prophet, it will be my duty to fight for it whatever the consequences. I will be prepared to face all risks, but I cannot be a party to the compromising of Islam on any fundamental issue."